The economic growth of the 1920s spurred the rise of consumer organizations
and campaigns. Some, like the Truth-in-Advertising
Movement, which pursued ethics and self-regulation in advertising, were
industry-based. Others sought to educate consumers. The Better
Homes Movement celebrated home ownership, home maintenance and improvement,
and home decoration in towns and cities across the country, while the Thrift Movement sought to teach children and
citizens how to save and spend wisely. Stuart
Chase worked to educate consumers about unfair advertising and pricing
practices used by manufacturers of consumer products. Lastly, there were
campaigns like the Playground Movement which
began in response to popular anxieties about material excess, misuse of
leisure time, and the loss of traditional values.

Consumerism also had its critics. The journalist Samuel
Strauss described the excessive emphasis on material goods as "an
empire of things." Strauss penned a series of articles between 1917
and 1925 that criticized President Coolidge and the consumer economy, shopping
and holidays, department stores, and Henry Ford. The National
Consumers League sought to expose goods produced under exploitative,
unsafe or unsanitary working conditions. It also focused on the rights of
workers, especially children. New Masses,
a radical monthly, espoused an anticapitalist position and disparaged the
consumer-driven economy. Both Harvey Washington
Wiley and his wife Anna Kelton Wiley
fought for improved consumer health and safety, especially in regard to
food, drugs and beverages.